A Conservative Summer Reading List

To tell the truth, I’ll never get to any of these books. I have 50 new books at my bedside unread, and over 200 on my amazon wishlist. But for those of you that have the time and inclination, these books look great. Note that none of the reviews are mine, but were taken from amazon.

Islam

Three Cups of Tea – One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson:In 1993 Mortenson was descending from his failed attempt to reach the peak of K2. Exhausted and disoriented, he wandered away from his group into the most desolate reaches of northern Pakistan. Alone, without food, water, or shelter he eventually stumbled into an impoverished Pakistani village where he was nursed back to health. While recovering he observed the village’s 84 children sitting outdoors, scratching their lessons in the dirt with sticks. The village was so poor that it could not afford the $1-a-day salary to hire a teacher. When he left the village, he promised that he would return to build them a school. From that rash, heartfelt promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time: Greg Mortenson’s one-man mission to counteract extremism and terrorism by building schools—especially for girls—throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban.

America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It by Mark Steyn: Someday soon, you might wake up to the call to prayer from a muezzin. Europeans already are. And liberals will still tell you that "diversity is our strength"—while Talibanic enforcers cruise Greenwich Village burning books and barber shops, the Supreme Court decides sharia law doesn’t violate the "separation of church and state," and the Hollywood Left decides to give up on gay rights in favor of the much safer charms of polygamy. If you think this can’t happen, you haven’t been paying attention, …. Europe, laments Steyn, is almost certainly a goner. The future, if the West has one, belongs to America alone—with maybe its cousins in brave Australia….Steyn argues that, contra the liberal cultural relativists, America should proclaim the obvious: we do have a better government, religion, and culture than our enemies, and we should spread America’s influence around the world—for our own sake as well as theirs.

Government and Public Policy

The Politics of Disaster: Katrina, Big Government, and A New Strategy for Future Crises by Marvin Olasky: Why was the government not capable of responding to human need in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina? How will the "Katrina failure" impact the next presidential election? And just what should we expect–and not expect–from the government in times of crisis? "Big government didn’t work," says veteran journalist and political analyst Marvin Olasky. "And it is clear that a new paradigm for responding to national crisis has emerged. Private and faith-based organizations have stepped in and politics will never be the same."

History

The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution by David O. Stewart: The men forging this document spent the summer of 1787 in the
Philadelphia State House realizing that the country needed a government
to replace the Articles of Confederation. Delegates from each state had
their own selfish desires they wanted included, and tempers often
flared to such as extent that patience became the order of the day in
order to complete their important task. Big states verses small states,
strong central government verses strong state government, the Virginia
Plan verses the New Jersey Plan, and slavery verses no slavery were
issues that dominated the proceedings. How much power should a
president have? How long a term? Who is to succeed him if he dies in
office? In the end it was The Great Compromise that led to a
settlement….The author also provides us with a summary as to what happened
to several of the delegates in future years, and fittingly, the
Constitution is included at the back of the book.

Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis: Ellis focuses on six crucial moments in the life of the new nation,
including a secret dinner at which the seat of the nation’s capital was
determined–in exchange for support of Hamilton’s financial plan;
Washington’s precedent-setting Farewell Address; and the Hamilton and
Burr duel. Most interesting, perhaps, is the debate (still dividing
scholars today) over the meaning of the Revolution. In a
fascinating chapter on the renewed friendship between John Adams and
Thomas Jefferson at the end of their lives, Ellis points out the
fundamental differences between the Republicans, who saw the Revolution
as a liberating act and hold the Declaration of Independence most
sacred, and the Federalists, who saw the revolution as a step in the
building of American nationhood and hold the Constitution most dear.
Throughout the text, Ellis explains the personal, face-to-face nature
of early American politics–and notes that the members of the
revolutionary generation were conscious of the fact that they were
establishing precedents on which future generations would rely.

Washington’s God: Religion, Liberty, and the Father of Our Country by Michael Novak:Most modern historians have made three basic assumptions about the religious views of our nation’s first president: he was a deist; he was only a marginal Christian who kept up appearances but had no depth of conviction; and he believed only in an impersonal force or destiny that he called "Providence." Michael Novak, the well-known conservative thinker and author of The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism, teams up with his daughter Jana to attempt to debunk all three of these notions about Washington’s religious views. Written at the specific request of Mount Vernon and with the assistance of their archives, this book is carefully researched.

Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation’s History by Newt Gingrich: The purpose of this book is to rediscover the historic source of
American liberty and to rediscover the founding generation’s
understanding of what is required to sustain liberty in a free society.
And to do this is to truly discover anew the centrality of God in
American history and in the ongoing story of American liberty." (page
131)

Business and Finance

The Art of Victory: Strategies for Personal Success and Global Survival in a Changing World by Gregory Copley: "The Art of Victory is an eye-opening study of the strategic realities of man’s eternal challenges. . . . Gregory Copley, our only conscious grand strategist and exponent of psychological strategy, provides vital new insights into the key challenges facing us today: terrorism and globalism. If Sun-tzu’s The Art of War is the marshal’s baton in the knapsack of every soldier, then the beautifully written The Art of Victory should be the secret strength of all who wish to lead society."– Yossef Bodansky, author of the New York Times bestsellers Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America and The Secret History of the Iraq War.

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss: This engaging book makes you ask the most important question that you will ever face: What exactly is it that you want out of work and life, and why? Tim Ferriss is a master of getting more for less, often with the help of people he doesn’t even know, and here he gives away his secrets for fulfilling your dreams.

Parenting

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know by Meg Meeker: The most important person in a young girl’s life? Her father. That’s
right—and teen health expert Dr. Meg Meeker has the data and clinical
experience to prove it. After more than twenty years of counseling
girls, she knows that fathers, more than anyone else, set the course
for their daughters’ lives. Now Dr. Meeker, author of the critically
acclaimed Epidemic: How Teen Sex Is Killing Our Kids, shows you how to
strengthen—or rebuild—your bond with your daughter, and how to use it
to shape her life, and yours, for the better. Directly challenging the
feminist attack on traditional masculinity, Dr. Meeker demonstrates
that the most important factor for girls growing up into confident,
well-adjusted women is a strong father with conservative values. To
have one, she shows, is the best protection against eating disorders,
failure in school, STDs, unwed pregnancy, and drug or alcohol abuse—and
the best predictor of academic achievement, successful marriage, and a
satisfying emotional life.

Gun Control

Armed America: The Remarkable Story of How and Why Guns Became as American as Apple Pie by Clayton Cramer: Cramer, an adjunct lecturer in history at Boise State University and
George Fox University, took on Michael Bellesiles even before his book Arming America was
discredited, and now goes further to prove wrong Bellesiles’s claim
that guns were uncommon in early America. Cramer finds that guns "were
the norm" in that period, people relied on guns to hunt, and gun
ownership was key to the success of colonial militias. His most
intriguing argument is that, as they became "tied to defending
political rights," guns also became a symbol of citizenship. Cramer
draws on many primary sources, from newspaper accounts to probate
records, and compiles impressive data supporting his case.

Global Warming

Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years by S. Fred Singer, Dennis Avery: Singer and Avery present in popular language supported by in-depth
scientific evidence the compelling concept that global temperatures
have been rising mostly or entirely because of a natural cycle.
Unstoppable Global Warming explains why we’re warming, why it’s not
very dangerous, and why we can’t stop it anyway.

4 Responses

Seeker,Note that none of the reviews are mine, but were taken from amazon.
In light of a copyright complaint from an Author of a cartoon checklist (last night), I sure hope you have Amazon’s permission to re-purpose their copyrighted intellectual property. Their reviews and product descriptions are copyrighted in case you were not aware.
-s

I’ll add one for you to pick up. I’m previewing Stephen Mansfield’s upcoming book “Ten Tortured Words: How the Founding Fathers Tried to Protect Religion in America…and What’s Happened Since”. It’s a terrific analysis of the intention of the Founders in drafting the first amendment and how the courts have twisted the meaning of the original words. It delves into the legal aspects just enough while not becoming bogged down in too much case law. A great combination of history and legal analysis that is well worth your time.

I’ll add one for you to pick up. I’m previewing Stephen Mansfield’s upcoming book “Ten Tortured Words: How the Founding Fathers Tried to Protect Religion in America…and What’s Happened Since”. It’s a terrific analysis of the intention of the Founders in drafting the first amendment and how the courts have twisted the meaning of the original words. It delves into the legal aspects just enough while not becoming bogged down in too much case law. A great combination of history and legal analysis that is well worth your time.